Alan993S

Hi there,

i have an oil leak in the number 1 cylinder which is dripping on to the exhaust. Getting this fixed plus undertaking some other maintenance while the engine is out is going to be expensive - especially here in Australia. So was thinking of doing this myself, with the helping hand of my brother-in-law who is a tech (not a Porsche one unfortunately). I have dropped six other engines in my previous life, but consider myself a complete novice. Have looked at a few threads but most deal with rebuilds. I don't want to do too much, but with engine out appreciate the convenience of the opportunity.

Just wanted to ask what else, as a minimum, or is recommended that I should get sorted while the engine was out.

Car is in a relatively good state with no other issues at all and has 55,000 miles on the clock. Marriage is strong :-)

Thanks in advance.
Alan

geolab

Since I lost my carrera S, I have a totally new perspective on enjoying 993's.
I had two engines, and both had oil leaks on cylinder 1.
I tried this on one engine, with good results, but I do not have data on mileage or time.
Engine stays in car.
I removed rear bumper, mufflers, engine protections and cam covers
I then tightened each cylinder bolt, starting from cylinder 3 from left to right. In a X style...so, bottom left then upper right, then top left and then lower right.
Same for cylinder two, and last , cylinder 1.

On cylinder 3 , I started with bottom left to be able to introduce an angular (degrees) torque wrench, just for the feel.
In my case, I tightened a few degrees the bolts on cylinder 3
cylinder two was really tight, and I tightened more on cylinder 1. Especially the RIGHT bolts nearer to the end of the car, loosened more than cyl 3
I did see ultra-slight sipping for 2 rides after that, but sipping stopped later.

How did you intend to do it engine out ? dismantle the top of the engine?

Quadcammer

What happened to your 993 geo?

pp000830

Why take the engine out and disturb all he connections on a 20 +/- year old car. On the 993 the transmission can be removed without removing the engine. This gives you access to the clutch, power steering belt an other stuff. The drip is most likely an oil return tube easily replaced from below the car with the service type expandable type return tube. Less is more when working on these cars. Unless you have a problem I would do the minimum. The oil return tubes are easily replaced in most cases from below, clearly a DIY project.

Andy

Alan993S

Thanks for the comments - was planning on removing the engine. But have not had a look inside/underneath myself to assess where the leak is coming from - have just gone on the advice from the service centre.

Sounds like its worth doing a little more research along these lines. i take your point Andy on leaving as many bits as they are. I have a tiptronic car - Would that be the same i.e. gearbox can be removed without removing the engine? Does replacement of the oil return tube require gearbox removal? What i was thinking is giving the engine a good cleaning and then get it up on the stands to have a look.

Depending on the answer to the gearbox removal question - It seems sensible in the first instance to then do whats Geo suggests before going the whole hog.

Hey Geo, sorry to hear about your car, if you are ever in Perth Australia you are welcome to take mine for a spin...

cheers
A

EMBPilot

George what the heck happened to your car?!

Quadcammer

no, return tubes don't require tranny removal.

definitely at least look for the leak first. cylinder base gaskets do occasionally leak though.

NP993

So you're planning on dropping the engine before you've determined the source of the oil leak? You've got the cart before the horse.

Rockit

You should have retitled "Engine Oil Leak"

I had my engine taken out to fix many oil leaks. The easiest is with a lift, you lower the car on a bench, unbolt the engine & tans then raise the car. You can do it other ways but I think that is very labor intensive.

I can tell you the common oil leaks on the 993...I just had ALL of them fixed. Most common are the lower valve cover gaskets, they worp and I replaced mine with Rennline aluminum. Second, the timing covers leaks, you replace the rubber grommets and new bolts on the cover. 3rd the rear main seals leak, 4th the metal oil tubes leak from the cylinder head to the block. They sell replacements that collapse so you don't have to remove the cylinder head to replace them, mine were really bad. The last is the main oil line near the power steering pump...the lines never leak but the bolt rusts away that holds the line on and the line can come off or start to leak. Also the 2 oil filters can leak, the small one on the engine and the long one in the pass rear wheel well on the oil tank. The small one on the engine usually is the one can leak for no reason.

The car is sitting above it on a lift in these pictures....if you pull the engine change the engine mounts, they sag with age and cause vibrations and hard shifting. A good way to tell if they sagged is look at the exhaust pipes and if they are siting high or close to the bumper they are probably fine. They are worn when they droop down away from the bumper.


Mine has high mileage so everything common above was leaking. Because yours is low mileage look at the valve covers, timing case cover and oil filter.

This is my engine a few days ago, ready to go back in after several months out.

EMBPilot

Rockit Pm on the way to you...

kjr914

Alan,

Search for "engine drop" in thread titles. Especially for ones by "Mike J" and the epic by flatsixforme ("dropped engine over the weekend" i think. Also, search for "while i'm in there", "while in there" "while you're in there". And "oil leaks" "case oil leak". Using the Advanced search from "search this forum" on the right upper side (not the crappy search bar at the top middle of the forum header, which search ALL of RL).

http://pcarworkshop.com is Mike J's info as well.

Quadcammer

nah, they don't typically worp [SIC]

geolab

Hello Buddies;

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...and-going.html

pp000830

Yes
and
No.

The ignition wire and the spark plugs have very long service lives on a 993, in practice well beyond the factory service interval. If the hydraulic lifter cartridges are noisy at start-up they can be replaced with the engine in or out. It is easier to work on with the engine out but in such a case you pay for the labor for removing the engine.
Andy

pp000830

I have a strong visceral response when ever a service advisor or technician uses these words and it causes me to ask lots of questions about necessity.